Martial Arts News

If the stars align, Justin Gaethje would be open to a third meeting with Dustin Poirier. | Getty/UFC

Justin Gaethje won’t deny Dustin Poirier a rubber fight if he comes out of retirement. 

Gaethje (27-5) won the interim lightweight title with a brutal beating of Paddy Pimblett at UFC 324 last month. While Poirier retired last year, Gaethje’s performance against Pimblett made him open to a return. Having gone 1-1 head-to-head with Gaethje, Poirier expressed interest in ending his retirement for a rubber fight against “The Highlight.”

Gaethje is also open to a trilogy fight against “The Diamond” if all concerned parties are interested. However, Gaethje is expected to unify the lightweight title against champion Ilia Topuria later this year. While Gaethje won’t turn down a fight against Poirier, he admits that he is primarily focused on moving forward.

Respect for a Warrior “Dustin’s a warrior and I’ll always respect him,” Gaethje told Bloody Elbow. …

Alexander Volkanovski doesn’t think Jean Silva has any relevance in the immediate featherweight title picture. 

Volkanovski (28-4) made the first defense of his second title run in a rematch against Diego Lopes at UFC 325 last weekend in Sydney, Australia. The 37-year-old showed why he is the champion by beating Lopes via a one-sided unanimous decision. 

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Silva subsequently called for a title shot against Volkanovski. “Lord” also warned that he would train with Ilia Topuria, the last man to beat Volkanovski. Volkanovski believes Silva is not yet in a position to call for a title shot. The Australian speculates that Silva might be taking shots at him to gain some clout. Volkanovski has met Silva in the past and allegedly got along very well. Volkanovski wonders if Silva is seriously upset about him training with Mauricio Ruffy ahead of UFC 325. Regardless, Volkanovski believes Silva has little relevance with undefeated contenders Lerone Murph…

Ian Garry believes he is responsible for Shavkat Rakhmonov prolonged injury. 

Rakhmonov hasn’t fought since a unanimous decision win over Garry in December 2024. The matchup was billed as a title eliminator with the winner expected to fight then-champion Belal Muhammad. However, Rakhmonov was sidelined due to a knee injury. The welterweight title has changed hands twice since while Rakhmonov is yet to recover. 

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Rakhmonov was recently revealed wearing a knee brace and carrying crutches. Rakhmonov’s manager subsequently revealed that “Nomad” recently underwent surgery again after re-injuring his knee. The undefeated Kazakh is expected to take another 10 months to recover. Rakhmonov has also been dropped from the official UFC welterweight rankings, with Garry taking his No. 2 spot. Lasting Effects? Garry recently took credit for sidelining Rakhmonov at the prime of his career. Garry re-shared a slow motion video of him bending Rakhmonov’s…

Michael Morales is not in awe of Islam Makhachev. 

Makhachev won the welterweight title with a dominant unanimous decision victory over Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 322 this past November. Morales (19-0) also emerged as a fresh contender on the same card with a brutal knockout win over Sean Brady. 

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While other contenders like Carlos Prates and Ian Garry are also waiting in the wings, Makhachev wants to defend his title against former champion Kamaru Usman. However, Morales is also being considered a frontrunner for the next title shot against Makhachev. Morales is not buying into the air of invincibility around Makhachev. The undefeated Ecuadorian sees Makhachev as just another athlete who hurts and bleeds like he does. Morales just wants the title and is happy to have Makhachev keep his legacy.‘He Can Have His Legacy’ “I don’t see Islam as a threat,” Morales told Hablemos MMA. “… He’s an athlete just like me, he’s a person just like me. He b…

Khabib Nurmagomedov believes his cousin, Usman Nurmagomedov, can hold his own against the best UFC lightweights. 

Usman became the inaugural Professional Fighters LeagueL lightweight champion with a victory over Paul Hughes last year. While the UFC is considered the pinnacle of MMA success, Khabib believes Usman is on par with any UFC lightweight. Khabib admits that he wouldn’t have said the same of Usman a year back. However, having trained and sparred with Usman over the past year, Khabib claims the PFL lightweight champion is on the same level as UFC lightweight champion Ilia Topuria and No. 1 contender Arman Tsarukyan.

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Rapid Improvement “I have my own opinion on this, but it’s not right to talk about the UFC being a PFL fighter. In one year, Usman has grown a lot,” Khabib told Team Gorilla Fighting. “I’m fighting with him myself, I’m working personally. And from the outside, he’s at least on the same level as them [Ilia and Arman]. A year a…

Alexander Volkanovski and Diego Lopes were caught in a weird position in the final seconds of their rematch. 

Volkanovski put his featherweight title on the line in a rematch against Lopes at UFC 325 last weekend in Sydney, Australia. Volkanovski showed superior technique to stifle Lopes’ offense and earn a unanimous decision. Volkanovski and Lopes were caught in a bizarre north-south position against the fence just before the final bell. 

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Volkanovski kept swinging while sitting on Lopes with his back towards the Brazilian’s face. “The Great” revealed that he didn’t realize that he was precisely sitting on Lopes’ face. Volkanovski light heardtedly apoligized to Lopes for the position.‘Why Can’t I Hit His Head’ “I didn’t realize my ass was actually on his face,” Volkanovski said on YouTube. “I thought that I was sitting on his chest. That’s why I was trying to swing back these punches, thinking his head’s there. And I’m like, ‘Why can’t I hit…

Jon Jones wants to save whatever is left of his arthritis ridden hip.

Jones is currently coaching the ALF Reality Series opposite archrival Daniel Cormier. This has led to talks of a potential wrestling match between the UFC veterans at the new RAF wrestling league. 

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However, Jones recently revealed that he has severe arthritis while shutting down the idea of wrestling “DC.” Jones claims his left hip is so severely affected by arthritis that he has qualified for hip replacement surgery. “Bones” wants to save the rest of his hip to play with his 3-year-old son.Aging Rapidly? “I have severe arthritis,” Jones said (video via Home of Fight). “Most people don’t know that. My left hip is covered in arthritis. I actually already qualified for hip replacement. My last training camp I went to bed in so much pain… I have a 3-year-old baby boy. I want to use what I got left from my hips to play with his ass.”

This comes as a slight surprise, as Jones (28…

Cory Sandhagen has a tongue-in-cheek theory as to why Sean O'Malley doesn’t want to fight him. 

Sandhagen believed O’Malley was not deserving of an immediate rematch after losing his title against Merab Dvalishvili. However, O’Malley waited for his turn and failed to reclaim his title against Dvalishvili at UFC 316 last year. Dvalishvili then went on to defend his title against Sandhagen at UFC 320 last October. Sandhagen has since been calling for a matchup against O’Malley at the White House in June. 

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Sandhagen believes O’Malley doesn’t want to fight him as his ginger hair resembles that of “Suga’s” longtime coach and friend, Tim Welch. Sandhagen also jokes that the former bantamweight champion could be sexually attracted to him.Calling Out ‘Suga’ “Me and Sean O’Malley should absolutely fight at the White House,” Sandhagen says. “There is literally no reason not to. Why does this dude not really want to fight me? Is he scared of me? I’m li…

Tai Tuivasa came up short against Tallison Teixeira at UFC 325. | Getty/UFC

Even after a hiatus that lasted more than a year, Tai Tuivasa’s slump continued at UFC 325.

The popular Aussie heavyweight struggled to remain upright, dropping a unanimous decision to Tallison Teixeira in a featured bout this past Saturday at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney. It was Tuivasa’s sixth consecutive defeat within the Octagon, a skid that dates back to September 2022.

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“Bam Bam” expressed disappointment in the defeat in a statement released on his Instagram account.Hurts the Soul “That hurts the soul more than any punches,” Tuivasa wrote. “I tried I had a great camp looking forward to getting back in camp with the boys at Tripl3 MMA so much to work on. Always big love to my supporters especially the Aussie fans/crowd always cheering me on. I’m sorry for falling short again. F—king s—t feeling.

“My poor boy has watched me get a hiding a few too many times n…

Asu Almabayev is 6-1 in the UFC. | Getty/UFC

Asu Almabayev has been forced to withdraw from the UFC Mexico City headliner a little more than three weeks before the event.

Almabayev revealed that he suffered a hand injury in a post on Instagram, confirming an Ag.Fight report that the Kazakh fighter had been forced to withdraw from a proposed flyweight booking against ex-UFC champion Brandon Moreno. It is currently unclear if Moreno, a Mexico native, will remain on the Feb. 28 card against a replacement opponent.

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'Many Interesting Battles Ahead' “The situation is like this: I injured my hand two days before our flight,” Almabayev wrote on Instagram (via Google Translate). “I don't want to talk about the injury, I've never refused a fight, no matter who I fight, no matter what the situation, the preparation is at a good level, it's done, no matter how much you kick, I can't change it.

“I still have five fights left in this [organization]…

Daniel Cormier never wanted to fight Cain Velasquez.

Velasquez (14-3) was on the cusp of UFC heavyweight title contention when Cormier joined him at the American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, California, in 2009. Cormier saw Velasquez as the definition of a teammate and never wanted to fight him. After joining the UFC in 2013, Cormier decided to move down to light heavyweight after his sophomore outing in the promotion. “DC” recently revealed that Velasquez never saw him as a threat when he joined AKA. When Cormier started rising up the UFC rankings, he felt compelled to avoid Velasquez.

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‘He Uplifted Me’ “I went to AKA to train. I walked in as an Olympian and a heavyweight, and Cain Velasquez was the champion at the time,” Cormier told the UFC. “He never saw me as a potential opponent down the line, and because of that, when it was time, when I worked myself up to No. 2 in the world, I said, I'm gonna go to 205 pounds because he set the standard f…

Kamaru Usman believes Khamzat Chimaev might have outgrown his current weight class. 

Chimaev dominantly won the middleweight title against Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 319 in August 2025. While Chimaev is yet to defend his title, he is now calling for a light heavyweight title shot against Alex Pereira. Usman believes Chimaev’s call for a light heavyweight title shot might not be fueled just by double championship aspirations. Usman believes “Borz” is struggling to cut down to middleweight. Considering Chimaev’s size, “The Nigerian Nightmare” finds it ridiculous that the undefeated Chechen-born used to cut down to welterweight at one point. Usman also conjectures that Chimaev wouldn’t mind opening the door at middleweight for Nassourdine Imavov by moving up to light heavyweight.

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Too Big for Middleweight? “For Khamzat Chimaev to continue to call [Pereira] out, I think Khamzat potentially has outgrown the weight class again, to where now he’s like, ‘L…